WEST Perth runs out onto HBF Arena with its own facility to enjoy for the first time since the move to Joondalup 24 years ago as the Falcons host Claremont to open the WAFL season on Saturday afternoon.

West Perth made the move from Leederville at the end of 1993 and while the move has been a success in a lot of areas, including the premierships of 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2013, but now for the first time the Falcons have their own brand new facility to embrace.

That has already benefited the club and the players and coaches over the summer, and now the West Perth members and supporters will get to enjoy that facility at HBF Arena.

A SIGNIFICANT reason why there weren’t big changes of player personnel required heading into 2018 at West Perth was the club backing in the youth coming through with coach Bill Monaghan particularly keen to see what Connor West, Tyrese Miller, Liam Tedesco and Sam Rotham can produce.

Looking at the West Perth squad picked to take on Claremont for the 2018 WAFL season-opener at HBF Arena on Saturday and you can clearly see the strong work done by the Falcons in producing local talents who go on to become tremendous league footballers.

STABILITY has been a big part of West Perth over the off-season with the majority of the group returning from 2017 in 2018, it just happens that the departing players happen to be on the more important side but coach Bill Monaghan is happy the depth is there to cover for that.

West Perth had another solid season in 2017 reaching a fourth finals series of the past five years before a disappointing exit losing in the elimination final to Swan Districts at Steel Blue Oval.

But there was plenty of good signs to take out of the season and to build on heading into 2018 particularly with the emergence of players like Ben King, Mark Hamilton, Nathan Alexandre, Tyson Moulton and Blake Wilhelm into regular league players.

WEST Perth reached two WAFL Grand Finals and won a premiership in a four-year stretch of playing three finals before coach Bill Monaghan thought it might be time for a bit of a change to the game plan in 2017.

Being strong defensively had been a focus for West Perth over those four years previously which brought about a tremendous amount of success. The Falcons wouldn’t kick big scores but they would make themselves difficult to score against.

In the finish, that led to the Falcons winning a first premiership in a decade breaking through for the flag in 2013 and then they reached another Grand Final in 2015 only coming up against a rampant Subiaco outfit.

As we approach the start of the season it is a timely opportunity to update our members on the developments that have occurred in and around the club during the off-season. To say it has been a challenging period for the club would be an understatement with staffing changes, the completion of new facilities, water damage to our new facilities, facility defects and new membership services are amongst a plethora of challenges we have faced since last season.

I would like to provide more details on a number of developments since 2017.

OUR brand new home at HBF Arena is open for business and will be celebrated this Saturday with West Perth hosting a day of pre-season WAFL matches along with our Season Launch and Jumper Presentation at our Joondalup home.

West Perth began its official WAFL pre-season campaign last Saturday against Subiaco at Leederville Oval and now after West Coast and Fremantle locked horns last Sunday at the venue, it's now time for the Falcons to grace the turf with the use of the club's brilliant new facilities.

The Falcons host East Fremantle this Saturday and the gates will open to HBF Arena from 7.30am with the 16s contest to get proceedings underway from 8.30am.

THE 2018 WAFL season is fast approaching and with all the excitement surrounding the West Perth Football Club with our brand new facility at HBF Arena, there is no better time to become a member and for those who have, the membership packs are now available.

There has never been a better time to become a member of the West Perth Football Club with the benefits it provides with the use of our wonderful new facilities at HBF Arena.

We have plenty of tremendous membership offers for this year too so there is a category to suit each and every supporter of the Falcons so there really is no excuse not to sign up and become a member of the club you hold so dear.

WEST Perth's road to the Round 1 WAFL season-opener at the redeveloped HBF Arena kicks into overdrive over the next fortnight with pre-season hit outs against Subiaco and East Fremantle.

There has been plenty of excitement surround West Perth over the summer with the opening of the state of the art, multi-million dollar new club rooms at HBF Arena not to mention the arrival of new chief executive Linda Hamersley and a host of other changes to take the Falcons into an exciting era.

The attention now turns on the field for West Perth with the Falcons to begin their official WAFL pre-season campaign this Saturday against Subiaco at Leederville Oval.